Congo boycotts its own aid conference

The Democratic Republic of Congo has taken the extraordinary step of boycotting an international conference aimed at raising hundreds of millions of dollars to help its own people, saying the central African country’s humanitarian crisis has been exaggerated.

The rare and possibly unprecedented snub of the United Nations-led pledging conference by president Joseph Kabila’s government comes amid differing views about the needs of a sprawling country where millions are displaced and hungry amid a brewing political crisis.

The conference aims to raise funds toward a $1.7 billion (about £1.2bn) UN appeal this year to help 10.5 million people in Congo. The UN says $209 million has come in toward that goal so far this year.

However, many speakers did not address the elephant in the room: Congo’s absence.

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said the country faced “one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises”.